1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of computers used to display video information and, more particularly, to a method and system for controlling the video ports of a computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years there has been a rapid expansion in the use of personal computers for audio and video applications. Individuals now use numerous devices to provide video and audio input signals for personal computers. For example, a single user may have a digital camera, a camcorder, and a DVD that he wishes to use at various times.
To facilitate audio and video input, many computers now include a tuner card having multiple interface ports for various types of devices. Examples of video input ports include S-Video, coaxial, RCA, and composite input ports. In addition, tuners typically include stereo audio input ports.
Many current operating systems include media applications that allow the user to configure the tuner card to respond to input signals from a video input device. However, the media application in current operating systems only allows the tuner to be configured to respond to a single device that is coupled to only one of the video input ports. Furthermore, current media applications included with current operating systems do not allow a port to be configured unless a device is actually coupled to that port and is providing a live signal. An example of a current media application having the aforementioned limitations is “Media Center” that is distributed with Windows Vista®.
Because of the limitation discussed above, if a user initially configures a video port for one device and then wishes to attach a different device to a different port, it is then necessary to re-enter the tuner card configuration application and to re-configure the ports.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved system and method for managing the configuration and operation of video ports on a computer. Such a system is provided by the present invention, as described hereinbelow.